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Nine former Bills players receive Hall of Fame nominations

Nine former Buffalo Bills players have been included in the preliminary list of Pro Football Hall of Fame Modern-era nominees for the Class of 2019. They are:

LB - London Fletcher

FB - Larry Centers

C - Kent Hull

LB - Cornelius Bennett

LB - Chris Spielman

LB - Takeo Spikes

LB - Darryl Talley

S - Troy Vincent

ST - Steve Tasker

Hull, Bennett, Tasker, and Talley were all members of the Bills’ four AFC Championship teams that went on to play in four consecutive Super Bowls. Spielman, Fletcher, Centers, Spikes, and Vincent all joined the team after those years.

Two former Bills players were also nominated as coaches: Marty Schottenheimer and Tom Flores.

18 finalists will be presented to the full 48-member Pro Football Hall of Fame Selection Committee during its annual meeting on “Selection Saturday,” the day before Super Bowl LIII. The finalists will consist of 15 Modern-Era finalists, the recently named Senior Finalist, Johnny Robinson, and the Contributor Finalists, Pat Bowlen and Gil Brandt.

The Selection Committee will meet on Saturday, February 2, 2019 in Atlanta, Ga. to elect the Class of 2019. While there is no set number for any class of enshrinees, the selection process by-laws provide that between four and eight new members will be selected.

The Senior Finalist and Contributor Finalists are voted “yes” or “no” for election at the annual selection meeting and must receive at least 80-percent support from the Committee to be elected. The Modern-Era Finalists will be trimmed during the meeting from 15 to 10 and then from 10 to five. The remaining five finalists will be voted on individually, “yes” or “no” and must receive the same 80-percent positive vote as the Senior and Contributors Finalists to earn election to the Pro Football Hall of Fame. The Class of 2019 will be announced during the “NFL Honors” nationally broadcast award show that evening.

The Pro Football Hall of Fame’s Class of 2019 will be formally enshrined on Saturday, August 3, 2019 in Canton.